An Efficacy Study of ALEKS-Based Placement in Entry-Level College Math Courses

Abstract

ABSTRACT We studied ALEKS PPL placement scores, SAT scores, and entry-course grades for a population of 1659 students who placed into College Algebra or below over a span of 5 years. In addition to representing an understudied range of placement level, the study was conducted at an HBCU with majority Black/African American students, a demographic that is also underrepresented in other studies. We find that while many of the students who are placed into a course lack full mastery of the prerequisite topics, they nonetheless perform better than students who are placed into a lower-level course and worked their way up. We also find a chance (95% confidence) that ALEKS PPL will improve a student's placement by at least 1 level. ALEKS PPL proved a better predictor of student performance on Elementary Algebra topics than SAT score, but the reverse was true for a course that focused on consumer mathematics, statistics, and probability (called Math for Liberal Arts). Finally, we find that the cut scores used in most of our courses work quite well, except for the Math for Liberal Arts course.